Ungodly?

The only thing let out of the closet by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s ruling on gay marriage was Lady Justice herself. And it’s about time. By affirming for gay Americans – who just might include your brother, sister, best friend, co-worker, boss or uncle – the most basic human right next to life itself, i.e., the right to seek happiness with a partner of one’s choice, this country has taken a momentous step forward.

For all of my conservative friends who’ve girded up for the War on Terror, if you really want to know how this country differs from the anti-Christian, homophobic, tyrannical, just look at the protection of minorities afforded by our American rule of law.

What troubles me is not that many decent, well-meaning people are uncomfortable with what the Massachusetts court did. While strongly disagreeing with such people, I respect their point of view. (And to the extent that differences in opinion are based on deeply held religious beliefs, I say thank Heaven we live in a country that allows and protects such differences – whether of religion or sexual preference.)

No, what troubles me is what unscrupulous politicians are about to do with the Bay State’s ruling. It is widely believed that the Republican Hack-O-Rama – led by Hack-In-Chief Karl Rove, President Bush’s political Brainiac – are going to make dupes of all the well-meaning conservatives to attain cheap political gains in the 2004 election while distracting the country from real, more pressing issues (like the burgeoning disaster in Iraq and Afghanistan, or the no-jobs economy, or the failure to provide every American with health insurance.)

After all, better to freak out the electorate about the Gay Menace than deal with a raft of foreign- and domestic-policy failures. So guess what you’re going to be hearing all about in the next election? That the Democratic candidate for president – whether it’s a Civil-Union-Bill-Signer like Howard Dean or a Don’t-Ask-Don’t-Tell kind of a guy like Wesley Clark – favors the Three Ps: Pedophiles, Polygamists and Polyamorists. You’ll be hearing that the Democratic Party favors doing away with age-of-consent and statutory-rape laws, that public schools will be required to “teach” homosexuality, that the godless, gunless, gutless gays are a threat to your children, your pet dog and the American Way of Life.

America’s been through this routine, oh so many times. In the 1830s, some groups said it was the Masonic Lodges who secretly controlled the government; in the 1850s, the Know-Nothings said it was immigrants who were going to hand over this country to the pope; in the 1860s, the Secessionists said it was the Black Republicans who were out to wreck the Constitution. By the 1920s and 1950s, it was the Red Menace, out to steal your bank accounts. By the 1960s, it was the hippies and the SDS, both grave threats to the Republic. Hey, here’s a newsflash! In spite of almost 200 years of boogiemen (and women), America is still here, and more just than ever! Amazing!

What saddens me about this particular boogieman – attitudes about gay Americans – is that they run counter to the better angels of our nature. Not just the tolerant angels, but also the scientific angels. “Gay” isn’t really a “preference” – it’s biology, most likely genetic – like blue eyes, black hair, right or left handedness. It’s not a choice, it’s a fact, just like heterosexuality.

For centuries, the science that we know today was not known, and many ancient, long-held and once-respected beliefs were challenged as the world became better understood. Ideas of racial inferiority were once as common as the cold; so was the idea that the world was flat, that the universe orbited around the sun, or that disease was caused by vapors in the night air. Leaching cured illness and leprosy wasn’t an infection, it was a divine curse. Attitudes about gay Americans are currently in this category. One day people will look back on this debate and wonder what the fuss was all about.

In the meantime, there will be no shortage of fear-mongers and gay-baiters. Republicans often accuse the Democrats of playing to class warfare and divisive politics. There may be some truth in this. But it is the Republicans who use the wedge issues – and the status of gay Americans is one of them – not only to divide us, but also to distract us. I’m guessing that in 2004, the status of gays is going to be one of those wedge issues.

You want to talk about ungodly?